SIPA thanks all the members, suppliers, design professionals, builders, speakers and friends that participated in making this a successful event; and a big shout-out to our sponsors who made the event possible!

The SIPA team is looking forward to learning where our meeting will be next year with many surveys indicating that Phoenix, AZ might be a preferred location.

Winner - Grand Terrace Apartments - Worthington, MN by Energy Panel Structures
(Note: This project was attributed in error to a different member during the awards presentation, our apologies to the two affected members).

Runner up High Performance - In-Law House - Sweetwater, FL by Innova Eco Building System

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to those who submitted so many fine projects for consideration. Detailed posting of all the winners will be posted to www.sips.org in the next few days. Check the Building Excellence Awards page by clicking here.

Meet the 2018 Building Excellence Awards Judges

Click here to access the Building Excellence Award page for more details.

Chris Fennell, COO at Institute for Building Technology and Safety, has more than twenty-five years of domestic and international market research, management consulting, and engineering experience.

BuildingInsight LLC specializes in new product and service commercialization, branding and communications research, and energy and sustainability strategy for product manufacturers, service providers, membership organizations, and public-sector clients. BuildingInsight has facilitated hundreds of focus groups, industry roundtables, and client meetings and has developed a state-of-the-art Internet-based survey platform for quantitative studies including conjoint analysis-based pricing research.

Prior to founding BuildingInsight, he spent nearly nine years at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center as Vice-President of Marketing and Division Director for Market Research and Energy Programs. While there, he managed more than 100 research projects for public- and private-sector clients. He was the NAHBRC Zero Energy Home Program and Building America Program team leader for the US Department of Energy.

Chris Fennell - COO at Institute for Building Technology and Safety. Chris formerly was VP at NAHB Research Center and President of Building Insight, a marketing/research firm

Ron Jones, President and Co-founder of Green Builder® Media.

National award winning designer/builder for three decades.
Author of more than a hundred published articles related to sustainability and the built environment.

Internationally recognized speaker having presented at conferences and events in 49 states and on four continents.
Founding chairman of the NAHB Green Building Subcommittee, the National Green Building Conference and the non-profit Green Builder Coalition.

An original member of the LEED for Homes steering committee, 1999 to 2007.

Chairman of the Consensus Committee seated by the International Code Council and National Association of Home Builders in 2007 to develop the National Green Building Standard, ICC 700.

Sam Rashkin, Chief Architect with the DOE, is the author of the book titled “Retooling the U.S. Housing Industry: How It Got Here, Why It’s Broken, and How to Fix It” that presents a comprehensive strategy for transforming the new homebuyer consumer experience. Sam brings the lessons from this book to housing executives across the country with workshops and collaborative meetings that help them accelerate innovation. Apart from this work, Sam has earned a national reputation for his work leading housing programs that have partnered with thousands of home builders and resulted in over one million certified high-performance homes. Mr. Rashkin was recently recognized for his contributions to sustainable housing with the 2012 Hanley Award.

He received his Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University; and is a registered architect in California and New York. During his 20-plus years as a licensed architect, he specialized in energy efficient design and completed over 100 residential projects. He has served on the national Steering Committees for USGBC’s LEED for Homes, NAHB’s Green Builder Guidelines, and EPA’s Water Sense label, and on the development team for EPA’s Indoor airPLUS label. Sam has also prepared hundreds of articles, technical papers, reports, and seminars; and contributed to other books on energy efficient and green construction.

Sam Rashkin - Chief Architect with the DOE and runs the Zero Energy Ready Home Program (formerly Challenge Home and Energy Star Homes)